Postgraduate Education and Social Development: Cross-, Multi-, Inter- and Transdisciplinary Perspectives

Postgraduate education, meaning study beyond the first degree through coursework and research master’s programmes, professional doctorates and doctoral research degrees, trains the researchers, professionals and public intellectuals on whom social development depends. It is also under strain from rapid expansion, uncertain careers, poor well-being and unequal access. This call for papers sets out the rationale, selection method and thematic structure of a special issue of the International Journal of Transdisciplinary Studies on postgraduate education and social development. Drawing on a structured scoping of the literature, it identifies seven themes: access, equity and inclusion; pathways, careers and labour markets; supervision, pedagogy and research training; well-being and the learning environment; knowledge co-production and societal impact; internationalisation and global knowledge inequality; and sustainability, technology and governance. It argues that each requires cross-, multi-, inter- and transdisciplinary inquiry, states the aims and expected contributions of the issue, and gives the editorial timetable.